Law for Dummies 2

Ako Legal Wife

 

I know it's the love month and those who are already in the Valentine mood might think this topic is inappropriate. But Freshman year for hubby in law school included Family Law so my earlier lessons likewise included married status becoming complicated. 

Annulment. Of course you know what it is! Duh! But just to go through the motion of defining it, I quoted Wiki: "Annnulment is a legal procedure for declaring a marriage null and void". Most of us are probably familiar with annulment because of famous celebs who've undergone this, such as Bb Gandanghari and his (her?) lovely ex-wife, on the most used and abused grounds of "psychological incapacity" (actually, I have yet to hear of a case where a different ground was cited). If you ask me, anybody can be "psychologically incapacitated" for marriage depending on how well your psychologist defines it in court. (Note: I specifically said for marriage. You don't need to be insane, but insanity can work too. Also, only one of you needs to be proven "psychologically incapacitated", preferably him). In Bb's case, of course, it was because he didn't want to have the lovely lady for a wife, he wanted to look like her! So... is homosexuality a valid ground? Not automatically. But, if your husband can't get his hard on with you, it is. Simple enough, right? 

 

FAQ: Are children from annulled marriages illegitimate? Not if they were born before the annulment was done.

So what's the diff between 1) annulment, b) divorce, c) marriage void ab initio, and d) legal separation? (Alin, alin, alin ang naiba?)

Divorce. This is not yet available here (ha! I made it sound like a gadget's latest model) but it has been pushed by numerous well-meaning congressmen for decades. The main difference between getting an annulment and a divorce is this: In annulment, you were married but one of you failed to fulfill your obligations so the court decides that your marriage is no longer valid (as the 80's movies would put it, "parang papel lang na pupunitin"). In divorce, you were married but you decide to end it. The marriage was valid but it is simply over. So the famous line in church weddings "till death do us part" does not apply here. Think of it as a chapter in your biography. It happened but it was just one chapter. Therefore, you can be married and divorced for as many chapters as you want. In annulment, however, it's like writing that chapter but cancelling it before the book is published.

SIDE COMMENT: Quite honestly, I do not understand why our government still hasn't passed the Divorce Bill to law. Personally, I feel it's hypocritical. To be the ONLY country (yes, one and only, because Malta had it in 2010) in the world not to have it??? So many couples live as "common law" couples (sa Tagalog, "live-in" and I have full respect for people who make this choice). Not to mention that annulment is, well... let's just say within reach if within budget. ;)

Void (marriage) ab initio. "Ab initio" is Latin for "from the beginning". Therefore in this case, it means that the marriage was not valid to begin with. What's the diff? Remember that in annulment, your marriage was initially valid but was just "written off" because one of you was not "fit". For a marriage to be considered void ab initio, it means that the marriage was void/null (fake, invalid, unacceptable...) from the beginning because of several possible reasons.

One, either one of you were not yet 18 at the time. Only people of legal age can marry. Legal age means greater than or at least equal to 18. Rounding off to the nearest birthday is not allowed! If you are a minor (i.e. below 18), guardians are required to sign in your behalf when signing contracts such as for sales or employment. This, however, does not apply to marriage contracts.  Also, if you are between 18-20, you still need parental consent (yup! parang nagpapaalam lang para sa field trip!!!). So even if you're 20, without parental consent, your marriage is still void.

Two, you were married before, in which case you can also be sued for bigamy unless you're Muslim (Wiki: "bigamy is the act of entering into a marriage with one person while still legally married to another"). Muslims are excepted because their religion accepts multiple marriages. I'm not quite familiar with how it works with them legally though. I'm hoping I will not need to know, and hubby does not do a Robin.

Three, you were wed at gunpoint (yup! "pikot" is a valid ground... valid, yes... proving it is another issue though). In legal terms, they call it signing a contract under "duress" or "coercion".

The list above are the only ones I can explain well. There are a few more, such as "fraud". You know... the classic telenovela plot where the groom was led to believe the bride was carrying his heir... but I'm not so sure I can cover that as confidently. But at least you get the point.

Additional note: if the marriage is void ab initio, you will still need to file a case in court for "declaration of nullity". This procedure is actually the same as filing for an annulment, just a bit easier if you're using the first two samples as grounds. No more extra challenge for the psychologists. A birth certificate or a marriage contract is enough. 

Legal Separation. Legally separated but still legally married. Marriage is still valid so you cannot marry again BUT 1) you can have a boyfriend/girlfriend without worrying about getting sued for adultery/concubinage, and 2) earnings from your hard work are no longer conjugal. 

QUICK GLOSSARY OF TERMS: 
Adultery - nanlalake si babae. Kahit HHWW lang, pwede na if done in public.
Concubinage - si lalake ay may ibang babaeng ibinabahay. So if girlfriend lang, not counted! Actually, even you catch your husband kissing another woman, still not counted. They have to be caught in the act, literally... as in one on top of the other! Talk about fairness, right!?
Conjugal - hating mag-asawa (50/50)

Only one topic and so long!!!??? I hope you learned something though, if you've reached this far. And thank you for reading my babble. If you need real serious legal advice, I'll be more than happy to give you hubby's number. But clocks will tick and meters will start running. So just stay tuned for my next article para libre. :p